Besjana Kuci works as a Project Manager and researcher at the IDM.

Ms. Kuci holds a M.Sc. in Political Theory and a BA degree in Political Science from the University of Tirana.

Over the last five years, Ms. Kuci has successfully managed projects on police integrity, strengthening of civil society and public sector approach to anti-corruption.

Ms. Kuci’s areas of interest include public institutions transparency and anti-corruption policies. Also, she has extensive experience in youth trainings on civic engagement activities through online platforms. She is member of the Swedish Institute Alumni Network.

Denisa Shabani is the Head of Finance and Administration at Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) and she manages the budget of 24 projects according to three departmental division structure CESA, LGID, RDC.

Before IDM, she has been working for Finance since October 2007 for international organizations, namely UNDP Albania and UN Women as a Program Finance Associate. She is an expert user of ATLAS financial system and this working experience has helped her to gain extensive knowledge in various duties including financial management of programs and project planning, budgeting, evaluation and monitoring process; preparation of quarterly basis financial statements.

Her responsibilities include certification of transactions for accuracy and propriety before submission to the supervisor for approval and action; analysis and interpretation of the financial rules and regulations and provision of advice and recommendations to a wide range of financial issues, etc.

She has assisted in 7 projects funded by the EU, Regional Research Promotion Programme funded by the University of Fribourg, Monitoring and Decentralization projects funded by the Swiss Embassy in Tirana, Regional project funded by SNSF, USAID, UNDP, BTD, Berghof Foundation, etc.

Denisa has an MA and BA in Business Administration.

Besjana Kuci works as a Project Manager and researcher at the IDM.

Ms. Kuci holds a M.Sc. in Political Theory and a BA degree in Political Science from the University of Tirana.

Over the last five years, Ms. Kuci has successfully managed projects on police integrity, strengthening of civil society and public sector approach to anti-corruption.

Ms. Kuci’s areas of interest include public institutions transparency and anti-corruption policies. Also, she has extensive experience in youth trainings on civic engagement activities through online platforms. She is member of the Swedish Institute Alumni Network.

Megi Reçi is a civic space program officer and researcher.

Within IDM, she has covered projects on public administration integrity and transparency, anti-corruption, public participation in decision-making, civil society sustainability, cybersecurity governance and human rights.

Before joining the IDM team, she worked for an international organisation in the area of human rights advocacy and engaged in several projects in support of human rights defenders and journalists in Albania and the Western Balkans. Besides, she was involved in various consultancies and research projects concerning anti-discrimination, freedom of expression and rule of law. Megi is also an annual contributor to a number global publications on gender equality and the state of democracy and a member of the Western Balkans Cybersecurity Research Network.

She graduated with honors from University of Tirana, Faculty of Law and holds a Master of Science in Public Law. In addition, she has completed the Benjamin Franklin Fellowship at the Wake Forest University in the U.S. and has received intensive legal training from several European universities.

Megi is fluent in English and Italian and has basic knowledge of Spanish.

Selected publications:

• Reçi, M., Kelmendi, S (2022) Bridging the Gap Between Cyber Policy Fragmentation and Human Rights. Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance
• Reçi, M., Prroni, D (2022) 2021 Civil Society Organizations Sustainability Index. USAID
• Reçi, M (2022) Citizen engagement in parliamentary decision-making. Institute for Democracy and Mediation
• Reçi, M (2022) Parliamentary Oversight. Institute for Democracy and Mediation
• Reçi, M., Kuçi, B (2022) Needs assessment on public consultation processes for the central government administration. Institute for Democracy and Mediation
• Reçi, M., Totoni, L (2022) Integrity Plan of Roskovec Municipality 2023-2026
• Sulstarova, R., Reçi, M (2022) Integrity Plan of Maliq Municipality 2022-2025
• Sulstarova, R., Reçi, M (2022) Integrity Plan of Pogradec Municipality 2022-2025
• Reçi, M., Angjeli, D (2021) Ticking the box on public consultations: enablers, repercussions, solutions?. Institute for Democracy and Mediation/WeBER 2.0.
• Reçi, M., Xhaho, A (2021) Monitoring report: Transparency and Accountability at Local Self-Government Level. Institute for Democracy and Mediation
• Sulstarova, R., Reçi, M (2021), Evaluation report on the implementation level of the Municipal Integrity Plans. Institute for Democracy and Mediation
• Krasniqi, A., Metalla, A., Bozo, A., Likmeta, B., Skendaj, E., Cukaj, I., Voko, K., Reçi, M., Shehu, R (2021) Evaluation of the situation of Human Rights and Rule of Law during Albania’s OSCE chairmanship. Albanian Helsinki Committee
• Matlija, D., Dule, I., Laçi, V., Reçi, M (2021) Roadmap to the EU: Advancing procedural rights in Albania. Fair Trials.
• Reçi, M (2021) Do youth votes matter in Albania?. Kosovo 2.0
• Reçi, M (2021) Elections during a pandemic – What have we learned?. Eurospeak
• Reçi, M., Kurti, T., Cakaj, E,. Dida, E. (2021) Human Rights and Technology. ILRG
• Reçi, M (2020) An overview of how Albania is responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Fair Trials
• Reçi, M (2020) Legal changes on abortion rights in Poland, global developments and the regression of women’s rights. Eurospeak
• Reçi, M (2020) Are the lives of Albanians protected?. Kosovo 2.0

Romario Shehu is IDM’s security program officer and researcher, focusing on security-related programs and projects. His work centers on security sector governance, violent extremism, organized crime and foreign policy.

He holds a Master of Sciences in International Relations from the University of Tirana and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and International Relations from Epoka University. He is fluent in Albanian, English, and Turkish.

Romario is an Exchange Alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the United States; Aspen Fellow – Alumni of Aspen Romania’s 2023 Program; and member of the International Advisory Board at the United Against Hate in Madison, Wisconsin.

Romario joined IDM in 2016 and has contributed to the following publications:

• The 2024 Assessment of Violent Extremism in Albania: Drivers, Forms, and Threats;
• Study report Pandemic management and lessons learned for a more secure future;
• Successfully reintegrating violent extremist offenders;
• Little Black Book of Organised Crime Groups in the Western Balkans;
• Russia and the Future of Europe: Views from the Capitals;
• Working Paper on enabling environments, drivers, and occurrence/nonoccurrence of violent extremism;
• 2020 Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index Albania;
• The status of Violent Extremism in Albania: A national assessment of drivers, forms and threats;
• Falling short of commitments: how Western Balkan governments fight organized crime;
• Mapping civil society responses in confronting organized crime in the Western Balkans;
• 2019 Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index Albania;
• Role of Religion in the Western Balkans’ Societies;
• Violent Extremism in Albania;
• Community Perspectives on Combating Violent Extremism in Albania;
• Reconsidering the role of civil society and religious authorities in building community resilience in Albania;
• Next generation Turkey and its foreign policy in the Western Balkans;

Iliada Korçari works as a researcher and project coordinator at the Institute for Democracy and Mediation, where she focuses on governance and area studies. Her main research interests are nationalism, state-building, and modern and contemporary thought.

She has worked in the public administration cultural policy sector for several years; was engaged as a freelance researcher in different research projects and has been teaching seminars of Nationalism and Identity at the University of Tirana, Department of Political Sciences, since 2015.

Iliada has a double-major in Political Sciences and Public Relations and Communication and has graduated in Political Theory, MSc. and Russian and East European Studies, MSc., being a holder of many scholarships.

She is a proficient user of Albanian (native), English, Italian and Spanish, an independent user of French and basic user of German and Bulgarian.

Selected publications:

• Korçari, I. 2010, Feb 10. Kosova si kampi ku gjendja e jashtëzakonshme është bërë e zakonshme [Kosova as the camp where the state of exception has become normal]. Gazeta 5(18), 4-5.
• Korçari, I. 2009, Nov 18. Dimensioni spektakolar i politikës sot: Çështja “Marubi” [The spectacular dimension of politics now days: the Marubi Affair]. Gazeta (8), 14-15.
• Korçari, I. 2007. A e zgjidhin kuotat çështjen e përfaqësimit? [Do quotas solve the question of representation?]. Gaja (3).

Anila Salianji is a project manager for the “SMART Balkans” project and a junior researcher working on governance, transparency and anti-corruption. She has been engaged for several years in the civil society sector, contributing to various projects related to youth, the education system and the management of public finances.

Before joining IDM, Anila was a research assistant at the Albanian Center for Economic Research and was engaged as a Public Policy Analyst in the field of economy and finance in the Civic Resistance organization.

She graduated from University of Tirana in Finance and completed some courses in European Studies and EU integration of the Western Balkans.

Languages: Albanian (native), English (fluently), and French (basic).

Genta Hoxha is a project manager at IDM, responsible for managing the “School as Community Center” projects, which set up multi-sectorial prevention measures to empower local communities. Her role involves management of activities and initiatives on local level in preventing violent extremism among youth aiming to raise awareness and develop community resilience.

Genta has a long experience in the civil society sector, 17 years of which at the Regional Environmental Center, where she was responsible for capacity building activities, education and information exchange issues, and communication and visibility-related tasks. She also has experience with grant management for CSOs in the environmental sector. Before joining IDM, Genta was involved with the IDEA project /GIZ ProSEED – “Make it in Albania” and the Center for School Leadership in Albania.

Genta holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Faculty of Economic at the University of Tirana and a bachelor’s in Social Work from Faculty of Social Science, University of Tirana.

She is fluent in English and Italian, and has a basic level of French.